Hewlett-Packard has announced a swathe of price cuts on its PC workstations, as Intel's lowered chip prices begin to filter through to the US channel. The biggest cut is from the Vectra VL PC, which is now retailing at $1301, down 17 per cent. In return for your cash you get a 500MHz PIII processor, 64MB SDRAM with a 6.4GB Ultra ATA hard drive. The Kayak XA mini-tower has shed 15 per cent of its cost. The system, comprising a 500MHz PIII processor, 128MB SDRAM and a 9.1GB SCSI hard drive, is now retailing for just over $2000. HP says that the price cuts reflect recent reductions from suppliers (mostly Intel's hit back at AMD) as well as savings it has made in its supply chain initiatives. At the time of going to press, HP in the UK was unable to say whether prices would be falling on this side of the pond, but other companies have started putting out rather more attractive prices. Dell is promoting a 500MHz PIII Dimension T500 -- with 128MB SDRAM, 17in monitor, 13.6GB hard drive -- for £799 (ex VAT). ® Related Stories Last week in microprocessors